Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson have been due to fight before (Image: Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

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UFC president Dana White is adamant Khabib Nurmagomedov's next defence of his lightweight title will be against Tony Ferguson.

The undefeated Russian returned from an 11-month layoff last Saturday in the main event of UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi, where he retained his 155lb crown with a third-round submission victory over Dustin Poirier.

Moments after Nurmagomedov’s second title defence, former lightweight king Conor McGregor resumed his campaign for a rematch with the Dagestani destroyer, tweeting: “Book my rematch for Moscow.”

A second fight between the bitter rivals would be the biggest in UFC history, but White is adamant Ferguson deserves the next crack at ‘The Eagle’.

Conor McGregor lost to Khabib last year (Image: Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

“Tony Ferguson is next in line for the fight, if he accepts the fight,” White said.

“We’ll see how this thing plays out, when Khabib will fight again and if Tony wants to fight. Tony Ferguson gets the next shot.”

Should the in-form Ferguson be unable to face Nurmagomedov later this year, White is willing to give McGregor the opportunity to avenge his defeat to Russia’s first UFC champion.

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He said: “If for whatever reason Tony can’t take the fight or doesn’t want the fight at that time then, we would figure out what was next. But Conor would make a lot of sense.

“Conor McGregor wants that fight really badly and I’m sure the fans would want to see it. So we’ll see how this whole thing plays out.”

Nurmagomedov and Ferguson have been scheduled to face one another a staggering four times but have yet to share the octagon.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the best in the business (Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

They were most recently slated to fight last April at UFC 223 but a freak knee injury prevented Ferguson from competing for the undisputed lightweight title.

Ferguson is hoping to return to action in December, but Nurmagomedov is refusing to commit to an end-of-year showdown with 'El Cucuy'.

He said: “My next opponent, it’s a very good steak and a burger with double cheese. I want this one. With some juice, with ice. I wanna enjoy it a little bit, give me a couple of days guys, please."